Does the Taurus eat tires?
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From: Scott Dorsey on 2 Aug 2010 11:00 hls <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote: > >Did you rotate these tires religiously? That is more important now than >ever before. Is it really? With modern tires being directional you can only swap them front and back when you rotate... does that really make that much of an improvement in equalizing wear? I have to admit to being lazy about rotating myself. >Otherwise, like Scott said, get your car checked for alignment front and >back. You can eat up a set of tires before you know it if alignment is >poor. If you can find a really good frame shop, for example, they will >have equipment and experience that cheapo franchise alignment bays >wont have. Don't go to to the cheapo franchise places. A bad alignment is usually worse than none at all. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
From: jim beam on 2 Aug 2010 11:41 On 08/02/2010 06:51 AM, MNRebecca wrote: > Been googling and talking to co-workers and can't find any kind of > consensus. My 2004 Ford Taurus has just eaten through its second set > of tires in 4 years. First set was relatively expensive (Triple > Treads, experienced severe cupping that's typically bad shocks. > and inner tread wear that's typically alignment, but alignment can be put out by worn bushings, particularly on cheaply made vehicles like the taurus. > after 18 > months/30,000 miles). Second set was cheaper (Cientra Plus) and, at > last rotation, I was informed that they are about shot (after about > 36,000 miles). My driving conditions: > > -60 miles commute per day on paved country highways with no traffic or > potholes, just two reductions in speed to pass through small towns > along the way. > -Northern plains state i.e. snow, ice, and melting solvents on roads. > -Some potholes in parking lots at work but I try to avoid them. > > I don't peel out or brake excessively. Thoughts? Could it be my > particular car (rather than Tauruses in general) eating the tires? I > bought it used with about 20,000 miles on it. Thanks. you don't say what mileage you have on this vehicle, but i'd guess it's higher mileage, and both the bushings and shocks are worn. [they tend to go hand-in-hand.] you should spend some money getting both replaced, then get the vehicle properly aligned. provided you don't have any frame damage, you should be fine after that. -- nomina rutrum rutrum
From: jim beam on 2 Aug 2010 12:14 On 08/02/2010 08:00 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote: > hls<hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote: >> >> Did you rotate these tires religiously? That is more important now than >> ever before. > > Is it really? With modern tires being directional you can only swap them > front and back when you rotate... does that really make that much of an > improvement in equalizing wear? good point. rotation is largely a legacy of bias ply tires and not particularly relevant to modern radials. in europe, many vehicle manufacturers specify to /not/ rotate, but here, legal cowardice seems to over-ride the reality that: 1. rotation doesn't improve actual wear - only the appearance of wear. putting an unworn tire on a station that's wearing doesn't mean the wear is not happening at the same rate, just not on the same tire. 2. rotation can actually decrease road traction. if a tire is worn to fit the sense of a particular station, moving it to another station with a different wear sense means it has less rubber in contact with the pavement, thus less traction. pursuing the the visual appearance of "even wear" at the expense of traction and therefore safety is retarded. 3. some uneven tire wear is inevitable, particularly on macpherson strut where suspension geometry is poorly controlled put that on front wheel drive with uneven driveshaft length, and that effect will be even more apparent. beyond that however, good alignment is frequently neglected, particularly causes like bushing wear. bushings can be either expensive or difficult to replace, so most people don't bother. or they're simply unaware. when the inevitable poor alignment control issues surface, i.e. uneven tire wear, people simply rotate so the visual effects of that wear are less obvious. > > I have to admit to being lazy about rotating myself. it's not lazy, it's smart. > >> Otherwise, like Scott said, get your car checked for alignment front and >> back. You can eat up a set of tires before you know it if alignment is >> poor. If you can find a really good frame shop, for example, they will >> have equipment and experience that cheapo franchise alignment bays >> wont have. > > Don't go to to the cheapo franchise places. A bad alignment is usually > worse than none at all. > --scott yes and no. some of the franchises use really good machines that even monkeys have a hard time getting wrong. my local sears uses a hunter alignment machine that is for all practical purposes, idiot proof. they don't even need to fit the sensors on the wheels properly - a major problem in the past. as long as they roll the vehicle on the lift like they're supposed to, the sensors map each wheel plane and the computer guides them through alignment so they get it pretty much dead-on each and every time. even on a 4-wheel alignment vehicles like my civics - something that used to be rare/impossible to get in the past.. -- nomina rutrum rutrum
From: hls on 2 Aug 2010 13:20 "Scott Dorsey" <kludge(a)panix.com> wrote in message news:i36mj5$i85$1(a)panix2.panix.com... > hls <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote: >> >>Did you rotate these tires religiously? That is more important now than >>ever before. > > Is it really? With modern tires being directional you can only swap them > front and back when you rotate... does that really make that much of an > improvement in equalizing wear? > > I have to admit to being lazy about rotating myself. Yes, it seems to. But it isnt just the treadwear that is effected. Like you, I tended to avoid the rotation cycle. I had a new set of "good" Michelins on my van and let them run over the recommendation. Noticed they were wearing unevenly, cupping, noisy, vibrating. Took them back to the tire shop (Discount Tire, Lufkin, Texas) and they told me lack of rotation was causing this. When I rotated them, of course, the rear tires were in better shape and the noise stopped. I continued to rotate them through the life of the vehicle and got 72,000 miles on that set. Similar happened to our Avalon. Michelins got only 30,000. Replaced them with Kumho' s and am getting much better wear, but noticed at about 10000 the ride was deteriorating, noisy, etc. Rotated and it is a-ok for now.
From: jim beam on 2 Aug 2010 13:31
On 08/02/2010 10:20 AM, hls wrote: > > "Scott Dorsey" <kludge(a)panix.com> wrote in message > news:i36mj5$i85$1(a)panix2.panix.com... >> hls <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote: >>> >>> Did you rotate these tires religiously? That is more important now than >>> ever before. >> >> Is it really? With modern tires being directional you can only swap them >> front and back when you rotate... does that really make that much of an >> improvement in equalizing wear? >> >> I have to admit to being lazy about rotating myself. > > Yes, it seems to. But it isnt just the treadwear that is effected. > > Like you, I tended to avoid the rotation cycle. > > I had a new set of "good" Michelins on my van and let > them run over the recommendation. Noticed they were wearing unevenly, > cupping, noisy, vibrating. tires don't do this on their own, only if there is an underlying cause. > Took them back to the tire shop (Discount Tire, > Lufkin, Texas) and they told me lack of rotation was causing this. When > I rotated them, of course, the rear tires were in better shape and the > noise > stopped. I continued to rotate them through the life of the vehicle and got > 72,000 miles on that set. masks the symptoms - doesn't address the cause. > > Similar happened to our Avalon. Michelins got only 30,000. Replaced them > with Kumho' s and am getting much better wear, but noticed at about 10000 > the ride was deteriorating, noisy, etc. Rotated and it is a-ok for now. tires with only 50% contact do indeed tend to be quieter! -- nomina rutrum rutrum |